Ha-Hesder

Israeli settlement, yeshiva with a dangerous, charismatic rabbi, and a military unit of devout young orthodox Jews. Combination of fundamentalist approach to faith and proximity of weapons, always a very bad idea.Mix in two young men and the rebellious daughter of the above-mentioned rabbi Meltzer, and there we have a love triangle. I usually thoroughly enjoy Israeli cinematography known for its freshness and creativity, but " Time of Favor" falls short. Could be the lack of knowledge about the Orthodox branch of Judaism on my part ( i am not Jewish), or possibly the muddled vision of the director. I am not sure, but what's left is a tackle on this universal problem of religious fundamentalists who, of course believing that they are the only ones with the right answers, feel obliged to demolish everybody else. Sad state of affairs but not enough for a movie.

TIME OF FAVOR starts out as a love triangle and then switches into a thriller. It is interested in stylishly presenting both stories, so it winds up being a little long, and yet even then it's missing some setup near the beginning. The rabbi wants his daughter to marry the most brilliant of his students, but we never see even a perfunctory demonstration of that student's brilliance. The daughter falls in love with a different disciple of the rabbi's instead, but the script doesn't give them any particular reason to fall in love. It almost looks less like the real thing on the girl's part than like simple rebellion against her father... but it's supposed to be the real thing, or the plot doesn't have sufficient fuel. The thriller section proceeds well; the situations are sold to us by some of Israel's best character actors. All in all, the film was crafted well enough to kick off a writing/directing career (not an easy thing to do in Israel) that has been going strong for Joseph Cedar over more than twenty years now.

This film is another in a wave of films from Israel that show the gritty reality of life there. Kippur showed us just how bloody and fruitless the 1973 war with the Arabs was (the scene of three medics trying to move one wounded soldier over a muddy field sticks in my mind as a symbol of futility), Late Marriage showed how hard it is for the children of immigrants to find their way in a secular society--Zaza, the central character is falling apart under the pressure of compliance with traditional precepts governing courtship, marriage and divorce.

The character of Rabbi Meltzer seems to be based on Meir Kahane, the dangerously charismatic and violent leader. People are just pawns in a chess game for this man, and if his family doesn't comply with his wishes he'll find others who will. It's fascinating to see Michal, his daughter, start to assert her individuality after a lifetime of conformity with her father's wishes. The first indication of rebellion takes place on a mountainside overlooking the kibbutz where she grew up; she tells a bitter story of neglect and indifference to human needs that is very touching. Tinkerbell and Aki Avni are very good; Assi Dayan as the Rabbi is outstanding in his deviousness cloaked in moral fervor.

The TV guide described TIME OF FAVOUR as thus:

" A rabbi's daughter must choose between the man she loves and the man her father wants her to marry "

So I sat down to watch a movie that I expected to be a romantic drama , and being an Israeli film I also expected to see some secular Vs religious politics . But this isn't what I got . For the most part the story does indeed play out as a love triangle between the rabbi's daughter on one hand and two friends in the IDF on another , but then about two thirds of the way through it becomes clear that this is a political thriller featuring a bomb plot not too different from something Bruce Willis might have appeared in several years ago . When I say becomes clear I mean after one of the character's gets a bloody good kicking off the Shin Bett , up to this point I was asking myself where on Earth the movie was heading

There's two ways of looking at this . One is that TIME OF FAVOR is a highly complex film , the other being that it's a highly unfocused one . I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say it's complex one . It should also be pointed out that if you have absolutely no knowledge or interest of Israeli politics or culture clash you will be at a loss trying to understand this movie , though it's difficult to imagine someone watching a movie in Hebrew - albeit in subtitles - who doesn't have any interest in Israel

One of the many reasons I appreciated this movie was because it spoke of a certain truth behind the Israeli government; namely, their unique and authentic desire to protect and live side-by-side with their Arab neighbors. Although there may be army generals who could have allowed the explosion under the Dome of the Rock to take place, they no doubt would expect a massive retaliatory attack on Israel by surrounding countries resulting in instability in the region. Political and religious suicide, to be exact. However, I felt that the film depicted the soldiers acting collectively and selflessly to prevent such a tragedy to occur because their job is to protect and defend the Land of Israel, its landmarks, and citizens, including Arab-Israeli citizens.

The under ground activity is very symbolic of the underground politics of the Israel government in its efforts to deal with the political situation of the region. Like the US, there are many times civilian lives have been spared and the heroes are never known nor are the events made public.

It's hard to identify the protagonist, although Menachem is most likely the closest candidate. Depending on who is viewing the film, he may be seen as friend or foe.

The movie plot suffered slightly due to the intermediate love (lust) story involving Pini. Audiences have enough trouble keeping up with their own relationships, it's not necessary to drag them into a failure from the beginning.

Editing and lighting techniques were overlooked but forgiven because the film was shot mostly outdoors. Overall, a very well-done film and deserves 8 of 10 stars.